Monday, May 22, 2017

Day 02 - L'Orignal (ON) to Laval (QC)

95.2 km - Total so far 198.20

After a blissful night and a full breakfast we said good bye to Marcel, Sylvette, André and William and hit the road under a slight drizzle. Joining us for the ride today was our nemesis, the headwind. Not as bothersome as yesterday, but it certainly made it`s presence felt. By 9:00 am, we would be continuing our ride into Québec.

Bike path near Carillon, deep in the middle of mosquito country.

We stopped for lunch in St Andrews East and confirmed that Highway 344 was open. As we pedaled Highway 344, we saw how close the water was to the road. We assumed that cycling the bike path in the Oka/Pointe Calumet might be a problem and decided to go with the Plan B route. Past Saint-Placide on Hwy 344, we headed North and up Rang Saint-Étienne. This would take us to Saint-Eustache via the `Highlands`.

The church of Saint-Benoit and not a sand bag or pile of wet drywall to be seen.

Given that today is `La Journée Nationale des Patriotes` we decided to make a stop at l`Église de Saint-Eustache, site of a battle. The Battle of Saint-Eustache, fought on December 14, 1837, was a decisive battle in the Lower Canada Rebellion in which British forces defeated the principal remaining Patriotes camp at Saint-Eustache. Seventy Patriotes died and twelve of which are buried next to the church.

Saint-Eustache Church with Daniel in yellow

Cannon ball damage upper left or door

I had not been to Saint-Eustache in years and I was amazed to see how much effort has been invested in bringing the past to life. Just to give you an idea of what is available have a look at the pictures below with links to the websites. The websites are in french only but that should not stop you from stopping in Saint-Eustache and spending the day. We plan on going back in the VW bus and the bikes on the rack.

Weather forecast for tomorrow is sunny, 12 degrees and wait for it: winds from the West 19 km/h with gust to 30 km/h. Reacting with unmitigated excitement.My mother, Thérèse Gamache, helped us edit and publish the blog. 59.15 miles - Total so far 123.16 miles